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City officials to vote on first phase

By ZACK McDONALD and MATTHEW BEATON / The News Herald

Published: Thursday, May 9, 2013 at 07:54 PM.

Once all 274 homes are finished in Phase I, it will generate $700,000 in ad valorem taxes annually, Harrison said. Once all 3,200 homes are finished in the entire development, it will generate $8.1 million in ad valorem taxes annually.

The entire project will create 6,400 jobs, he said.

Yet, the long-run timetable for the project is difficult to predict and completion could take more than 20 years, according to the development company’s documents. Each of the development’s seven phases will consist of 200 to 800 homes, contingent on demand.

Harrison, however, couldn’t be more excited about the project.

“It is a heart transplant, I believe, for Panama City. It is really going to make phenomenal improvements to the core of Panama City. … It just couldn’t come soon enough for me,” he said.

An earlier version of this story is posted below:

PANAMA CITY — City officials plan to fast track development of the old airport property.

PANAMA CITY — The St. Andrew Bay Land Co. has unveiled plans for a massive development — including thousands of homes, commercial space, a school and marina — on the old airport property off Lisenby Avenue.

The Panama City Planning Board and Commission likely will vote to approve Phase I of the project this month.

Infrastructure construction is slated to begin in June, and the company, in a letter to the commission and mayor, has requested its plans and permits be approved by May 30.

The 704-acre development called SweetBay eventually will include 3,200 homes, 700,000 square feet of commercial space and the University Academy (Florida State University’s charter school in Bay County), as well as parks, ponds and plenty of green space. The property is located at the northern end of Lisenby Avenue, where the Panama City-Bay County International Airport was located before it moved to the West Bay area. The Airport Authority sold the property to St. Andrew Bay Land Co. for $51.4 million in February 2011.

Right now, the focus is on Phase I of the project. Monday’s Planning Board meeting will include four agenda items pertaining to the development, including zoning adjustments, rights of way abandonment, and reviews of the project’s plans and “developer agreement.”

The Planning Board will be looking at whether the project complies with the city’s comprehensive plan. The City Commission will then take those same agenda items up at its Tuesday meeting, according to its agenda.

Normally, agenda items don’t roll from the Planning Board to the commission on successive days, but the city is trying to accommodate the developers, said Mike Lane, the city’s planning director. Usually, the commission takes action on items the Planning Board approves not at the next day’s meeting but at the meeting after that.

But, in the letter the company’s lawyer, William Harrison, said the plan is to start Phase I infrastructure construction by June. The city’s standard approval process would have required some of Tuesday’s agenda items to not be resolved until a June meeting or perhaps a special meeting.

“In essence … we shaved off roughly two weeks,” Lane said, noting the development company “panicked” after realizing it miscalculated the approval process timeline.

The decision to speed up the process was made by City Manager Ken Hammons, who did not return a call for comment.

Commissioner Billy Rader, who represents the old airport area, said he was “comfortable” with the timeline on the approval process. He said the commissioners have met individually to discuss the plan.

Rader praised the development plans, saying it looked “beautiful.”

“To me it speaks volumes of the confidence that they have in our community,” he said.

Rader added: “I think it has the potential to be the greatest asset our city has seen in many, many years.”

Harrison: ‘Sense of urgency’

Harrison disagrees with the notion Phase I is being “fast-tracked.” He said the development has been moving through the permitting process for more than two years.

Harrison said the company wants to get the infrastructure work — water, sewer and road improvements — done by the end of 2013, and then get the houses built. He said this is a self-imposed deadline and there are no financial implications involved. He said no permits will expire if the vote is pushed to June.

Harrison said the real estate market is most active from spring to early fall, so the company wants to have the houses finished for that peak period.

“I was hoping to convey to the commission that there is a sense of urgency, in that we need to make continual progress in the development of this project; otherwise it just kind of slips and slips and slips,” Harrison said.

But, if approval doesn’t come in May, it’s fine; the key is that action is taken on Phase I as soon as possible, Harrison said.

“We’re just trying to meet the market, particularly as we approach the spring of next year,” he said.

Phase I

If approved, Phase I will include 274 homes and the University Academy on a 66-acre expanse. It also will feature Academy Square, which will include the development’s entrance, a park and pond, Harrison said.

Meanwhile, the residential component will be called Academy Park, sitting adjacent to the old airport terminal.

The first homes are slated for completion in spring 2014. They will have architectural guidelines, which will assure continuity throughout the development, preserving a community aesthetic, Harrison said.

Phase I will not include commercial development, however. That will “follow” the residential development, and it depends on the level of interest in the commercial market, Harrison said. When built, the commercial area will be located at the intersection of State 390 and Baldwin Road.

“We’ll just have to wait and see how quickly the residential develops” initially, Harrison said.

The University Academy — for kids in kindergarten through fifth grade — is scheduled to move into the old airport terminal in fall 2014, Harrison said. The renovation process has begun already, and the interior demolition process has finished. Next comes the interior buildout on the terminal.

But, the rest of the development, which the Planning Board and commission still must approve, would begin in late summer or early fall of this year, Harrison said.

Economic impact

Harrison touted the economic benefits the development will bestow on the city and county. He said when the property housed the airport, the county and city received no ad valorem tax revenue.

Harrison also said building Phase I will create 790 jobs in 2013 alone and estimated it will generate $260,000 in residential ad valorem taxes, as well.

“It’s a tremendous amount of work that’s going to be done in this whole area between now and the end of this year,” he said.

Once all 274 homes are finished in Phase I, it will generate $700,000 in ad valorem taxes annually, Harrison said. Once all 3,200 homes are finished in the entire development, it will generate $8.1 million in ad valorem taxes annually.

The entire project will create 6,400 jobs, he said.

Yet, the long-run timetable for the project is difficult to predict and completion could take more than 20 years, according to the development company’s documents. Each of the development’s seven phases will consist of 200 to 800 homes, contingent on demand.

Harrison, however, couldn’t be more excited about the project.

“It is a heart transplant, I believe, for Panama City. It is really going to make phenomenal improvements to the core of Panama City. … It just couldn’t come soon enough for me,” he said.

An earlier version of this story is posted below:

PANAMA CITY — City officials plan to fast track development of the old airport property.

Phase I site plans for SweetBay will be considered by the city planning board Monday before possibly going to city commissioners for Tuesday’s meeting. If approved the development project of 274 homes and University Academy, an FSU charter school, could begin.

“It is unusual,” said Mike Lane, Panama City planning director, of an item being considered by the planning board then going before the commission the next day. “I think the call was made because it would push back [St. Andrew Bay Land Company’s] schedule back.”

The decision was made by the city manager’s office. Ken Hammons, city manager, could not be reached for comment Thursday.

A letter from the company to commissioners stated in order to meet SweetBay’s infrastructure schedule it would need commission approval by May 30.

The site for the city’s first mixed use (residential and commercial) community encompasses 66 acres at the northern-most section of Lisenby Avenue. The planning board will be looking at whether the project complies with the city’s Comprehensive Plan.

SweetBay is one of seven phases for development projects planned for the 704 acres, which formerly made up the Panama City – Bay County International Airport. The airport authority sold the property in February 2011 to St. Andrew Bay Land Company for $51.4 million.

Overall plans for the area call for up to 3,200 residences and 700,000 square feet of commercial space.

While an actual timetable for a project of this magnitude is difficult to predict, completion could take more than 20 years, according to St. Andrew Land Company documents. Each of the seven phases will consist of the development of 200 to 800 homes, which is contingent on demand.

Benefits to the city when the project is completed are estimated at 790 jobs, $3.9 million in sales tax revenue and more than $700,000 in ad valorem revenue.

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